The year 2018 has been marred with controversies for the Australian cricket. From the Sydney Test controversy in 2008 to the ball-tampering fiasco earlier in the year, the scandals get piling up regardless of their impressive performances. Former Australian skipper Steve Smith has opened up on how Cricket Australia (CA) provoked them to win matches at all cost.
Smith disclosed how James Sutherland (Former CEO of CA) and Pat Howard gave a warning to the team that they get paid only to win matches. Pat Howard and James Sutherland both have stepped down from their roles with the Australian set-up, currently, undergoing some major changes.
In a desperate situation against South Africa in the third Test at Cape Town in March 2018, Australians chose an unfair means to save the Test for their team. Cameron Bancroft was caught tampering with the ball and was slapped with a nine-month ban while Steve Smith and David Warner were handed a ban for a whole year.
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Describing the same, Smith said that when the Australian team had suffered their fifth straight defeat in Test cricket, including a series whitewash in Sri Lanka in 2016, the authorities had established the policy of “winning at all costs”.
In an interview with Fox Sports, Smith said, “We don’t pay you to play, we pay you to win. So, for me, that was I think a little bit disappointing to say. We don’t go out there to try and lose games of cricket, we go out there to try and win and play the best way we can.”
The New South Wales-born also acknowledged that it was his lack of authority as the captain of the team and he is responsible for the happenings. He also conceded that it has been quite difficult to get through these nine months but has come to terms with it along with the suspension serving as a learning curve for him.
Explaining his thoughts further, Steve said, “That’s a decision where I could have said ‘No’ and stopped a negative outcome that happened out in the middle and that was something, I guess, that I’ve learned over this nine months is to some up every single decision you make. Take a minute or take a few seconds to think, ‘If this goes pear-shaped, how it gonna look?’. That’s something that I’ve really learned over this nine months.”
